Search the letters

The Vaughan Williams Foundation has made over 5000 items freely available: chiefly letters from Ralph Vaughan Williams, but including some responses which shed light on the subject matter, and also a number of letters from Adeline and Ursula Vaughan Williams. These provide further information and often include messages or observations from Ralph, and there are also letters from Adeline and Ursula written on behalf of the couple. The text of letters written by RVW and UVW remain the copyright of the Foundation.

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The letters are in tabular form and can be sorted by column, or filtered by any keyword including name, musical title, year or subject (singly or in combination). Partial matches will also be found, e.g. searching “sky” will also find “Stravinsky”. To search for a phrase use inverted commas, e.g. “New York”.

To search by letter number, include the prefix VWL, e.g. VWL123.

Filter letters

Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL4176 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ivor Atkins 19290310 March 10 [1929]
VWL4143 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19350425 April 25 [?1935]
VWL4139 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19330430 April 30 [1933]
VWL4137 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19461107 Nov 7 [1946]
VWL4133 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19270113 Jan 13 [?1927]
VWL4132 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 192701-- Sunday, [January, ?1927]
VWL4131 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19261108 Nov 8 [1926?]
VWL4130 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19430908 August 9 [1943?]
VWL4129 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19370917 Sep 17 [1937]
VWL4128 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19430913 September 13 [1943]
VWL4126 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Christopher le Fleming 19420510 May 10 [1942]
VWL4084 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 1916---- [1916]
VWL4077 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Martin Shaw 19270708 July 8 [1927]
VWL4072 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19440921 21 Sept 1944
VWL4065 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19420413 April 13 [1942]
VWL4060 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Miss Piper 19410711 July 11 1941
VWL4040 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Lewis Crow 19400604 June 4 [1940]
VWL4036 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to L.W. Wale 19311022 October 22 [1931]
VWL4035 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams for the Coldharbour parish magazine 19311022 [22 October 1931]
VWL4034 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Ault 19311022 Oct 22 [1931]
VWL4033 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Ault 19300911 September 11 [1930]
VWL4032 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Evelyn Ault 19300517 May 17 [1930s]
VWL4013 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19380530 May 30/38
VWL4011 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19270529 Sunday [29 May 1927]
VWL4009 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19270503 May 2 [1927]
VWL4008 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Performing Right Society 19260521 May 21 [1926]
VWL4002 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth 19361121 Nov 21 [1936]
VWL3997 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Louise Dyer 19370419 April 19 [1937]
VWL3986 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to F.W. Evans 19050306 6 March 1905
VWL3980 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alexander Burnard 19321006 October 6 [1932]

You have never lost your invention but it has not developed enough.  Your best – your most original and beautiful style or ‘atmosphere’ is an indescribable sort of feeling as if one was listening to very lovely lyrical poetry.

GUSTAV HOLST letter to RVW 1903

He was one of the most 'complete' men I have ever known. He loved life, he loved work and his interest in all music was unquenchable and insatiable.

SIR JOHN BARBIROLLI, conductor

I was thunderstruck by the symphony last night - and hadn't expected to be. Jagged, pulsating and angry, from that very first clanging dissonance - how can it have come from the same source as the Tallis Fantasia?

AUDIENCE MEMBER, Newbury Festival